Top 10 Best Scuba BCDs of 2020

Beginner’s Guide To Buying A Scuba BCD

Buying a new BCD can be daunting at first glance. There is lot to consider when choosing the BCD that’s right for you. A few things you would want to condenser is your budget, the the style that works best for your type of diving, weight capacity, lift capacity, fit, and comfort.  

Type of BCD

There are basically 3 different styles of BCD. There are no right or wrong style.  The one you choose with depend on your level of diving and personal preference.

Jacket-Style BCD

This is the most common style of BCD. When inflated it wraps air around your waist, back, and shoulder. They are very stable on the surface of the water, making them a great choice for beginner divers. However, and improper fit can cause squeezing when over inflated. 

Back-Inflated BCDs

As the name implies. Only an air balder on the back is inflated, which frees up space in the front allowing the diver to move more freely when fully inflated. While they are great at keeping you horizontal underwater, on the surface it can be difficult to stay vertical when inflated.

Back Plate and Winged BCDs

These style of BCD are generally preferred by technical divers but are now rising in popularity among recreational divers. They are modular allowing to customize your BCD to the type of diving you will be doing. They are also able to accommodate multiple dive cylinder. They allow  you to choose infinite combination between back-plate and wing system.  

Lift Capacity

Now that you’ve decided which style work best for your type of diving. You need to know if you BCD will have enough lift capacity to keep you floating on the surface while wearing all your dive gear. For recreational diving, most BCD have enough lift capacity to keep you on the surface. However, it when you start to dive with multiple cylinders and exta tool for commercial or technical diving that you will require extra lift.

Fit and Comfort

A BCD should fit you like a comfortably–fitting coat; it should allow you to move freely without binding or slipping.

The ideal BCD fit includes:

• Snug, but not tight around your mid-section and arms/shoulders
• Straps should cinch across your body comfortably, but shouldn’t have slop or feel constrictive
• Hoses and valves should be easily accessible and within reach

Women BCDs

Many dive manurfacture make a woman version of their most popular BCD.

Modern ladies BCDs offer female divers increased comfort and a much better fit compared to the unisex alternatives. Key features are that the back length is reduced, which means the cylinder does not rest on the base of your spine and the shape of the BCD is made to fit the female figure.

Integrated weights save your hips from the bruising sometimes suffered by using a conventional weight belt. Also, often the chest straps are removed on a ladies BCD to avoid constriction across the bust.

Integrated Weights

Some BCDs are weight-integrated, which means you can put your dive weights into little pockets or compartments of your jacket or vest. This means you don’t have to wear a separate dive belt strapped around your waist.

A somewhat newer feature added to BCDs is the notion of an integrated weight system. This offers divers the ability to distribute soft weights around their bodies by putting small (usually 1-5 pounds) pouches of lead shot into various pockets in the BCD, rather than wearing weight only around the waist. Weight integrated BCD‘s allow the diver to reduce the amount of weight worn on the weight belt and increases the diver’s safety factor.

Some of the integrated weight in a BCD can be dumped in case of an emergency. This option is much safer than if a person is only wearing a weight belt without an integrated weight system because if a person is only wearing a weight belt, then if the weight belt is dumped, all of the weight is gone. If a person wearing an weight integrated BCD dumps weight, only a portion of the weight is gone; this allows the diver to have a rapid ascent that is still controlled, which greatly reduces health risks, like the bends.

Pockets and D rings

You will also want to ensure that your BCD has enough pocket and D-rings for the type of diving you will be doing. 

Make sure that your BCD has enough pockets and D-rings for the kind of diving that you are planning to do most. Often D-rings are pre-bent over your shoulders to flare outwards towards the bottom which makes attaching clips much easier than with flat D-rings which tend to lay flat against the BCD or straight out, usually found around your waist.

In tropical waters, only one or two small pockets will suffice useful for carrying things like your Fish ID slate. For UK and cold water diving, you will probably want to carry more equipment such as a dSMB and reel or spare mask but you can always use thigh pockets for extra storage.

In addition to buoyancy control, BCDs are frequently used to carry the burden of the diver’s gear. D-rings are used to clip items, such as your Scuba Light, gauge boots, regulator and octopuses, etc., to the diver to keep them close but not in the way. Make sure the BCD you decide on has enough anchoring points to satisfy your gear needs.

Pockets, straps and other attachment points are important for storing your dive accessories. You should always have somewhere to attach your dive torch and dive knife as well as your whistles, lights or surface markers.

Look for BCDs with several D-rings. Pockets can help you stay streamlined by tucking your dive accessories inside. This way, you won’t have to worry about anything dragging you underwater or dragging and potentially damaging precious marine life and structure.

Travel BCDs

For the intrepid explorer, these are light weight and can be packed down small, however they are not as durable as standard BCs as the material used is a lot lighter that the normal ones. The material is robust enough for regular use though, and it is super easy to pack. Just bear in mind that you wont be able to carry lots of extra weights and most travel BCD’s don’t have enough pockets or clips to carry much extra equipment, so if you are a diver who likes their accessories, then perhaps this is not a great choice for you!